Stories From Rapture: Katy's Tin Man
by Pyxidium
Summary: Take a break from all stories based off of bioshock 2. Don't you want something fresh and new? This first story follows a set of brand new characters in their struggle to survive in pre civil war Rapture. If you like it, which I'm sure you will, review
1. Chapter 1

Rapture Chronicles: Volume I

_Somewhere under the Atlantic, 1956_

Anticipation. A sharp pain. A flash of blue light. And then a rush coursing through my body. Ecstasy like no other. Starting in my wrist and swiftly working its way up my arm, then into my chest, down my right arm, into my stomach, my legs. Running up my neck and washing over my face like a wave of water, leaving me cooled and refreshed. Extending far into my fingertips, my toes, the ends of my hair, reaching my every extremity. Invigorating my every fiber, awakening my every nerve. I feel new, alert, attentive, young. I am completely aware of my every movement, my thoughts, my subconscious mind. I feel pure joy. I can appreciate everything from the elaborate architecture of the great buildings outside, to the penmanship of the envelope on my coffee table. I love the world, I love life, I love my family, I love myself. It is all so good and beautiful. Then I close my eyes and draw in a long, slow, cleansing breath and I can feel something well up inside my abdomen. It starts as a small candle flame and as I breathe it grows, fed by the oxygen in my lungs. It is a sun. A big glowing ball of energy that wants to burst out of me. I struggle to control it. I squeeze my eyes shut and grit my teeth. My fists clench. My grimace turns into a wide smirk. I open my eyes and see myself in the mirror. I feel powerful.

I was never a fan of needles. That is, not until the first time I "spliced up". And in all honesty I'm still not a fan of needles, no; but rather what the needle can do for me. Which is still to say I was never a fan of what it could do for me for the longest time until I discovered how Adam can help me. I used to frown upon them, the people who are addicted, who crave Adam, who go insane with the power it gives them. People who would rob, loot, mug, blackmail, even kill to get the Adam flowing. I still regard those individuals as less than human. But I am not one of these people, these splicers. My interest in Adam goes only as far as to benefit my family, not myself. But still, somehow, I can't help but feel like a hypocrite. I swore I wouldn't get caught up in all the insane capitalism when I came to Rapture. I'm not disrespecting Capitalism here, I'm no Commie, but what they practice here is ridiculous. You've got Fontaine with his plasmid monopoly, Steinman practicing who knows what kind of God awful things, Cambridge selling anesthetics to anyone with a little Adam, and Ryan, the biggest con of them all.

Bad luck for me I'm working for Cambridge. The man's a nut case. Of course I can't really say for myself seeing as I've never met him, but I've heard stories, and they're not pretty. Guy says he killed a man just for walking in on a conference by accident. Next day, guy's nailed to the wall outside the factory. I swear, things are getting out of hand. Hell, there's nothing I'd love more than to get out of this job, but I need to support my family, pay the rent you know? Living in Pauper's Drop isn't exactly cheap. It ain't no Adonis, I can tell you that, but with Sinclair jacking up the prices every couple months we'll be on the streets in no time. Assuming there isn't an all out war here. Ryan and Fontaine have been butting heads ever since I can remember. But it's not just the healthy old business competition anymore, it's far worse. When push comes to shove, one of them's gonna snap; and I don't want to be here when that happens.

_Two months earlier_

My name is Kade Walsh. I am forty years old and I have a wife, Valerie, and a ten year old daughter, Katherine. I was born in Wellsborough Ireland and moved to Massachusetts with my family in 1927 when I was eleven years old. I spent my childhood in America poor but generally happy. I had friends to play with and I often enjoyed taking walks in the rural areas, fields and the like. Picking flowers with my mother beneath azure skies, catching fish by the river with my father during his hour lunch break before he had to head back to the factory for ten more hours. I didn't live too far from the ocean in my boyhood. Growing up in inland Ireland, I always wanted to live by the sea. I never thought I'd be living _in _it some day. I liked to watch the waves roll in. I laughed when the gulls would walk up to the surf, and then quickly retreat as the water chased them up to the dunes. I also loved sitting in my backyard on summer days around six o'clock, and watching the shadows of the trees lengthen and the sun gleam through the emerald leaves. The air would set on fire and create a soft red glow like the sunset except the air that shone red was not in the sky, but all around me. I would take deep breaths and close my eyes and smell the breeze that smelled like twilight. I think that's what I miss most about the surface; the smell of evening.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter II

_Audio Diary 1_

_ Subject: Kade Walsh_

_ Date: 13 April 1956_

_ Time: 13:00_

_(Click)_

Uh…so I guess I'm gonna start using this thing. Friend gave it to me as a Christmas gift last year. Apparently everyone's got an Accu-Vox here in Rapture. Well, I uh…I went to see this woman today; you know to kinda sort through my life, talk about what's bothering me. She's not a shrink exactly, well I mean she is but…she's a doctor more like it. I mean I know I can talk to Val and everything but some things…I dunno. So I went to see this woman and she sat me down on one of her chairs and asks me a bunch of questions. Where do you work? What's bothering you? What's your social status in your opinion? Do you have a family? That sort of stuff. So I tell her I work for Cambridge Anesthetics, I live in Pauper's Drop; I've got a wife and a daughter. She tells me that's all well and good, but the family I have is holding me back. Naturally I got pretty mad so I stood up and asked her who she thought she was, telling me my own family's not good enough. She told me she didn't mean it like that, but rather I should be looking at the bigger picture. Look for a family in the people of Rapture, trust in them and let them be my guide to happiness and utopia. Utopia? I thought I was already in a utopia; although you could've fooled me seeing as how this place turned out. Then she suggests I start recording my thoughts; says it'll help me mull things over. I'll give her that one; I do need some place to vent. But that is thelast time I go see _her_. Her name's Lamb; kinda ironic now I think about it. She's nice on the outside, but boy has she got something up her sleeve.

_(Click)_

_Audio Diary 2_

_ Subject: Kade Walsh_

_ Date: 16 April 1956_

_ Time: 17:00_

_(Click)_

I saw a poster today. I was on my way back home from the distribution plant and the doors of the metro opened up at my stop and there it was, staring me in the face. On it was a man on one knee with a young kid next to him. He was smiling this big, toothy grin and he had his hand on the kid's head like he was ruffling his hair. There was a woman too, who I could only assume was his wife, and she was standing directly next to him with the same wide grin spread over her perfect lips. The poster read: _Protect your family with plasmids!_ It made me sick. What kind of person would rip open their God-given genes for a few parlor tricks? Fucking Rapture and its propaganda. "Protect your family with plasmids". Are they serious? How is getting spliced up every night gonna benefit your family?

_(Click)_

I'm running late. I dash into the kitchen where my wife and daughter are. Val is fixing something to eat on the stove and Katherine is sitting at the table, swinging her legs because her feet can't reach the ground. She has a blue jumper on with white polka dots and the white bow in her hair I got her for her birthday. She looks so sweet in her school clothes. As I rush into the kitchen Val turns around with a frying pan in one hand and a spatula in the other.

"You're going to be late again," she says grinning playfully at me.

"I'm not late until I'm late," I reply as I snag a piece of toast from the chrome toaster on the counter.

"Well then you better get out of here before you really _are _late."

I shove the toast in my mouth and pick up my briefcase and my hat. I swallow the toast in a single gulp and walk over to where Katherine is.

"Let's play tin man, daddy!"

"Not now, baby, daddy has work."

"But we never get to play tin man," she crosses her arms and pouts.

"We will after work, but right now I have to fly, and you little miss need to get ready for school. Mr. Ryan's visiting today and you don't want to miss that, do you?" _I hate that bastard_, I think to myself.

"No."

"That's my girl, now give daddy a kiss," I bend over and she gives me a peck on the cheek. I stand up, "Bye, Val. I'll be home around nine."

"Again with these late hours? I might as well be saying goodnight to you right now," she looks crestfallen.

"I know, I'm sorry, but Mr. Cambridge won't let any of us go until all the customers and bulk buyers have finished. Besides, tomorrow's the weekend, we'll do something fun. Maybe we'll take a trip to the Tea Garden, how's that?" Katherine yelps with delight. I can see Valerie is not as excited, but she attempts to look as though she is. She knows as well as I do that we don't have that kind of money. "I love you," I say with a smile and I kiss her lips.

"I love you too," she says. I am out the door within a minute, on my way to sell drugs to numb the pain of those who have spliced till it hurts.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter III

I stand hunched over behind the service counter with my back facing the atrium. I am finishing loading a box of Cambridge's Cerebral Cortex Conciliator into a case when the PA system overhead crackles. _Hello! This is a Sinclair Solutions public service announcement. Are you tired of living the low life? Do you think you deserve more? Mercury Suites not your cup of tea? Olympus Heights overrated? Glad to hear it, because we've got the perfect place for you! Sinclair Solutions is proud to present its new array of housing facilities in Pauper's Drop! _That's funny, I think. I don't remember seeing any new apartments._ Close to the central hub of every day Rapture life, Pauper's Drop is strategically located for your convenience. Plus, if you're interested in renting out your very own apartment, you'll be automatically entered in the Sinclair Solutions ADAM giveaway sweepstakes! That's right, so hop on down to Pauper's Drop and remember: Sinclair set you!_ The PA crackles again as it turns off and I chuckle to myself, feeling bad for the poor fools who will believe that message. I straighten up and turn around. My heart leaps up into my throat and I nearly gasp in surprise.

There is a man, or rather a poor excuse for one, standing in front of the counter. He is leaning forward slightly so when I turn to face him we nearly collide. I am horrified at what I'm looking at. What's left of the man's hair is matted, but that's the least of his problems. His bloodshot eyes are swollen and bulge out of his skull like two big hard-boiled eggs. His skin is frail and flaky and it looks as though it's trying it's hardest to stay in contact with the muscles under his face which are twitching erratically. Veins bulge on every piece of exposed skin his shirt, which is gray and grimy, is torn in a few places. But the most eye catching and startling thing about this man is the mass of surgical bandages that are tied around his waist. They are leaky and stained with pus and blood. I shudder to think what the bandages might be supporting; some kind of cyst or tumor. My mouth is open and I have to close it to keep from vomiting.

The man looks me in the eye though I doubt whether he actually sees me. I want to tell him to leave or something, just get away from him and call security, but I'm sure Mr. Cambridge would have my skin for refusing to serve a customer. I swallow hard, straighten my back and try not to breathe through my nose because the man stinks of fish and bodily fluids. "How may I help you sir?" I ask him.

"Ah-ah jeez man I-uh I just…just need something man," he stutters as he looks frantically from right to left.

"Some anesthetics?"

"I uh…I need some ADAM."

"I-I'm sorry sir. I regret that our facilities don't hold any…any ADAM, sir," I'm appalled at what this man has been turned into. All thanks to that horrible drug.

"No, no. I-I need to get my fix man, you know? Just a little, not much."

I can't believe what I'm hearing. What am I supposed to do with an insane client? I lick my lips and try to think of something to say, "Sir, I…I don't know what else to tell you except that I can refer you to a company that distributes ADAM. Let me give you the number for Fontaine Futuristics," I can't believe I'm actually suggesting someone go to that awful place, "I'm sure they'll be a-" The man grabs me by the collar and puts his face close to mine. Too close.

"I ain't lookin' for no bullshit, buddy! I just w-want my stuff!" Spit from his lips lands on my face and I discretely reach my hand behind me to push the emergency button on the wall. Much to my chagrin, he notices and pulls me with tremendous force up over the counter.

"What the hell do you think you're doin', huh?!" he screams as he pulls me up to eye level. I try to break free, but his hold is like a vice grip. I yell to try and attract the attention of any co-worker that might be passing by, but no one comes.

"I said what the hell ya doin'?!" He punches me hard; once in the mouth and once in the gut. I double over so I'm looking at his feet and my blood drips onto the polished floor of the atrium.

"Now are you gonna give me it? Huh? Huh?!" he bellows in my ear. I wince because his voice is so loud in my ear. He kicks me to the ground and I roll my head to face him. Then I see a reflection in the floor. It is the reflection of a person and he is standing right behind my attacker. _THUMP._ The man goes limp and he falls to the floor, his head turned toward me, his eyes open. They close as he falls out of consciousness.

"You okay, buddy?" says a voice above me. A hand reaches down and I grasp it; it pulls me up. I'm looking into the face of a man I've never seen before, but his face is kind. I'm a little dizzy as I rub my jaw and pat my stomach to see if everything's still intact.

"Thank you, I uh-" I begin, but he cuts me off.

"Nah, don't mention it. I couldn't let the guy kill you. I mean a splicer like that, he would've done it too," he says and grins. He looks down at the splicer on the floor and shakes his head. "Shit, what's Ryan got them splicing with now?" He gives the guy a soft kick in the side to get a better look at the tumor.

"Thank you again, I couldn't reach the emergency button. I would've been a goner if you hadn't shone up."

"Seriously, don't worry about it. Say, you work in this place?" He asks as he looks up at the arched glass ceiling. Outside it is green and dark.

"Yeah, I do. But you don't. Who are you?"

"Aw I'm sorry, guy. Halden Dolosus at your service," he says apologetically and with a small bow.

"Kade Walsh," I say and we shake hands.

"I just came from the eastern distributing center; then I found you here. I thought this place was a little too quiet for everything to be peachy keen."

"You bought anesthetics?" I say, gesturing to the box in his arms.

"Yeah, the wife's been hurting. Had a bad run-in with a Big Daddy last week. She went shopping at the Farmer's Market with my daughter, Annette. Place was crowded to hell. She lost Annette in the whole mess and thought she saw her a ways down in a hallway. She went over and took her hand. Turns out it was one of them Little Sisters. She starts screaming and Mary goes to turn around and _wham_! Big Daddy gave her a nice pop in the jaw."

"I'm sorry to hear that," I say, rubbing my own jaw as it starts to swell. "You found Annette, right?"

He looks hesitant, but just for a split second. "Erm…yeah," he recovers, "yeah, turns out she was not far away. She's been off playing in the pumpkin patch."

"Good. I know if I'd lost my daughter I'd be raising hell. She's my life."

Halden seems to perk up. "Oh! You've got a young one too?"

"Yeah. Gonna be eight next month," I say, smiling. "I'd give anything to make a good life for her. I'm trying; honest to God, but Pauper's Drop isn't exactly a prime place to raise a family."

"You live in Pauper's Drop too?! No way. Small world ain't it."

"Even smaller city."

"Yeah, you got that right," he says. "Hey! I just had an idea. You should come to my protest tomorrow. Sinclair's evicting half the resident to make room for his new development. Son of bitch, ain't he?"

I think about what I said to Valerie about going to the Tea Garden. "Yeah, I'll see about that," I tell him.

"All right. Hey, keep clear of splicers, you hear?"

I laugh, "Will do."

It's a long ride home from Cambridge Anesthetics. When the train pulls in I step out and there's that poster, staring me down again. I stop at the diner for a coffee and make my way to my apartment. There is a paper taped to my door with the word **EVICTED **printed in large red letters on it. I think I'll go to Halden's protest tomorrow.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter IV**

_A__udio Diary 1_

_ Subject: Valerie Walsh_

_ Date: 17 April 1956_

_ Time: 22:00_

_(Click)_

_ Valerie: _Oh! Oh- it's recording. _(Sound of throat being cleared) _I um…I bought one of these things the other day. Gabby has one; she says it really helps her. She just went through that divorce you know – oh _(slight giggle as she realizes her silliness) _that's right. You wouldn't know, you're a machine. _(Sigh) _Why am I doing this? I just – need to talk things out. I know I can talk to Kade, it's just – well I mean he's so busy. He works almost twelve hours a day, I never really see him except on weekends. I love him, I really do, but I just need to talk. That's all I need to do. Talk and be heard without anything to explain or anyone to respond to. I'm just…so…stressed. And I know I sound selfish saying this because Kade works so hard, but it affects me too. I never rest; there's always something to do around the house. And Katherine, oh Katherine I want more than anything to be able to provide better for you; raise you properly. I just don't know how much longer we're going to be able to pull this off for. The rent, the bills, the _education_. Living in Rapture's just as expensive, maybe even more, than living on the surface. I – _(Sound of door opening, Valerie whispering) _He's home, I better hide this so he doesn't think anything's wrong. _(Rustling. The voices sound muffled and far away.) _

_Kade: (Sounds tired)_ Hi hunny.

_Valerie: (Worried) _Kade, it's ten o'clock, where have you been? You said you'd be home at nine, I was getting worried. Is everything al – _(gasp) _your face! Oh Kade what happened?

_Kade: _It's all right, Val, just had a bad run-in with a customer is all.

_Valerie: _Are you hurt? You're lip is bleeding. Here, I'll get you a cloth.

_Kade: _Thanks. Why are you still up?

_Valerie: (slightly hesitant) _I was waiting for you.

_Kade: _Well, I'm home now. Lets' go to bed. I'm exhausted and you must be too.

_Valerie: _Yes, all right. You go on; I need to put this cloth away.

_(Door opens and shuts. Rustling and then Valerie's voice not muffled anymore) _

_Valerie: (Sigh) _I hope he's all right. Well, at least tomorrow's Saturday and we can all let loose at the Tea Garden.

_(Click)_

_// ~ //_

I am sitting in a huge foyer. Huge brass columns support the translucent ceiling and there are numerous hallways that lead out of the room I am in. All are black as ink. There is no light except for a single ray that beats down on me from above. It is a soft, white light; a kind of transfixing, innocent glow that illuminates me and about four square feet of the floor around me. I look up, but I cannot discern the source. I look down and around me are a dozen small empty glass containers; all with thin needles protruding from them. They would have reminded me of hummingbirds if they had not been leaking a blue liquid.

I hear a shuffle behind me and whip around. There, just outside of my halo of light, is the silhouette of a man holding a gun. He takes a step closer and his foot enters the light, then his entire body. I look up and the man puts his face directly in mine. I am shocked to see that in place of facial features, there is a thin covering of skin stretched across his head. He grabs for me and says, "Just a little ADAM," then opens up with his tommy gun. I shield myself as the sound of automatic gunfire fills my ears. The room swirls and the gunfire subsides into a metallic chime. I sit up straight, still shielding myself with my arms. I peer through my forearms at my bedside table and my fear dissipates. I reach over and shut off my ringing alarm clock. I am drenched in cold sweat and I feel slightly dizzy. I look over to see if Valerie is awake, but she isn't.

I walk into the living room ten minutes later, fully dressed. I go over to the television set and press the button on the top, and then I go sit on the edge of the sofa. A man is talking about the stock market and the positions of all of Rapture's industries. I stand up and think to myself that nothing's changed from life on the surface. I go into the kitchen and sit at the table and think. Halden's protest is today. _Shit_, I think, _what am I gonna tell Val about Arcadia?_ An idea strikes me and I get up and go to the fridge.

_// ~ //_

"You made breakfast? Oh, Kade," Valerie says, delighted.

"Well, you know. You've been really busy I just thought I'd take a little bit off your hands." She comes around the table and kisses me on the cheek. I walk over to the counter and shovel pancakes off the griddle with a spatula. Katherine runs in from her adjoining room and skids to a halt in front of me.

"Daddy! Daddy! I want chocolate chips in mine! Chocolate chips!" She wraps her arms around me and keeps repeating 'chocolate chips' as she buries her face in my stomach. I laugh and try to keep my balance as I waddle myself back over to the stove, Katherine still slinging to me. She looks up at, "I want chocolate chips and strawberries and fudge and cream and blueberries and candy and –"

"Whoa there Katy," I say playfully, "I'm making pancakes here, not sundaes."

"And then after we can play tin man and go to the Tea Garden and play tag and sit on the benches and watch the water and eat ice cream!"

"We'll do all that?" I say as I sprinkle chocolate chips into the batter.

"And more!" Katherine squeals in delight and claps her hands together.

"Well, we'll just have to see about that," I say jokingly although I know more than half the things she has planned for us will not happen today. It's an awful feeling knowing you can't make your daughter happy.

_// ~//_

Breakfast is over and the dishes are back on their shelves, polished and shining. Katherine is in the living room watching the television. I stand looking out the window of our apartment. The kitchen faces southward toward the rest of the neighborhood. I put one hand on the counter and the other on my hip and let out a short, satisfied sigh. Then I feel gentle hands coming up over my shoulders and crossing over my chest. A second later, Valerie rests her chin on my shoulder and we both share the same view of the neighborhood. I notice a crowd is forming.

"We're not going anywhere today are we?" She says, slightly disappointed though not too much because she knew this might happen.

I try to think of something to say, but I can't so I say what comes first to mind. "I met someone at work last night. If it weren't for him, I'd have never gotten home. His name's Halden," I say as I take her hands in mine and turn around to face her. "He's the one who fought off the splicer last night."

"Splicer?!" She exclaims and pulls back from me without unlocking her hands from mine. "You never said it was a splicer! Jesus, Kade, are you all right? It didn't – _infect _you or anything?"

"No, no. Val, listen it wasn't that bad. He was just…confused. He thought I had ADAM on me."

"Why would you have any of that dreadful stuff?"

"I wouldn't. I told him he was mistaken and he," I shrug, "he just lost it. It's no big deal. Really." I smile to further persuade her and it seems to work because she recovers and tries to smile.

"That's my superman," she says half mockingly.

I smile, "I told you, it's Halden you have to thank."

"Well when will I have the honor to meet your savior Halden?"

I remember the crowd I saw forming outside, "Today, actually. He's leading a protest against the evictions going around down here, you should come. And, seeing as our apartment's being seized in three months –"

"What do mean?" she looks worried all of a sudden.

I try to keep up my good attitude. "Yeah, uh…the notice was on the door when I got home last night. We've got until July twenty-fifth to vacate."

"Oh no. Oh no, Kade what are we going to do? We can't be evicted, not now. Not with Katherine to take care of."

"Don't worry, Val. Everything will be all right. We'll push through. Hey, how knows, maybe this protest will do us some good." She looks a little more relieved, but not completely. I wish I could calm myself as easily as I can calm her. Things would be a lot easier that way. "We'll take Katy with us too."

Valerie and I walk into the living room where Katherine is sitting on the floor, looking at the television. "Daddy, it's not working." I look at the screen and there is nothing on it but the silhouette of Rapture's lighthouse and the words _Please stand-by _superimposed on it. I click the power button a few times but to no avail. I didn't expect a picture to show anyway. Power hiccups are common in the Drop and have been becoming increasing more so lately.

"Come on now hunny, we're going to see a friend of daddy's today," I say and take her hand as I lead her to the door.

"But we were going to go to the tree place today."

"We will Katy, but right now we have to go see daddy's friend." I give her a little push to move her along and we are out the door, leaving the TV on to cast its cerulean glow across the empty room; the words _Please Stand-by _still flickering unyieldingly.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter V**

A_udio Diary 1_

_ Subject: Unknown_

_ Date: February, 1951_

_ Time: 12:00_

_(Click)_

So I got this new gig down near Persephone. Some guy found a sea slug or something down at the fisheries and now, Fontaine's building an entire industry around it. A slug! Can you believe that? Now what kind of man, making a pretty penny off an entire fishing industry, needs to go and jump through hoops to make a business off a slug? There must be more to it, but who am I to complain? It beats plugging up all the leaks that just keep on leaking down here. I told Gabriella about it and she says that there's something strange going on around here, something concerning this slug. I told her, "what's so strange about a slug?"

_(Click)_

_/ ~ /_

I step out into the still air of the Drop with Valerie and Katherine behind me. The hallway, which is essentially a long balcony, stretches to the left for four more doors, and right for twenty. The hall is sparsely lit; the number of lamps glowing is enough to count on my two hands. The air is immobile and smells like wet crackers. Farther down, the hallway curves left and connects to a staircase which ends in a landing and another floor of apartments. I look out over the scenery, which consists of four floors of about twenty-five drab apartment complex doors each. The ceiling is high, though not as high as some of the other towering buildings in Rapture. Through it I can see enormous buildings looming above this one; their neon signs advertising all of Rapture's newest products and places. Water falls from above in thin lines; from where it is impossible to tell due to the vast volume of water exterior to the building. I notice the crowd that is slowly forming below is circulating slowly toward the eastern exit to the diner and the Atlantis Express train station. I lead Valerie and Katherine down the hallway, stepping in shallow puddles as I do so. We reach the end of the hallway and turn left to go down the stairs. We reach the bottom and start to merge with the crowd when I hear someone calling my name behind me. I turn around and see one of my neighbors, Bill Kirby jogging toward me.

"Hey Bill," I say as he comes to a stop, panting lightly. He is a heavy-set man and balding.

"Howdyado Mrs. Walsh," he gives a nod to Valerie. "Kade, you hear? Sinclair's evicting half the residents."

"Yeah, I heard. We're some of them."

"Shit, are you kiddin' me? He got you? You're evicted?"

"Got the notice last night."

"Ah man, I'm sorry. Jesus, the wife's been worried sick ever since she found out. She thinks we're next. I don't blame her; things aren't exactly looking up are they?"

"No, I suppose not."

"You goin' to this protest, here? Man named Dolosus' raisin' hell. Gonna try to put the kick back in the Drop, you know?"

"Yeah, I am. He's a friend of mine."

"No kiddin'? Well that's exactly what people need these days. A friend."

I nod in agreement as we enter the main chamber of Pauper's Drop. The diner is in the epicenter of the room, red lights flashing indicating that it is open. A makeshift stage is set up in front of the diner and a man is standing on top of it. As my family and I draw nearer, I can see that the man is Halden and he is coaxing people to move in closer to the stage to make room.

"That's right, come on up. Plenty of room up front," he is saying as he looks up and sees me approaching. "Hey! Hey Kade, you made it! Come on up," he is beaming. Val asks me if I think there will be any of Sinclair's men here to keep an eye on things. I tell her that it is really unlikely; that Sinclair is more of a one-man-show kind of fellow. I don't expect he will be here himself. He's probably too busy counting his bills in a suite somewhere.

I push through the thickening crowd to the foot of the platform and extend my hand to Halden. "Hey Hal," I say as he takes my hand and pulls me up next to him. "Quite the crew you got together, here."

"Yeah I know right? How the hell'd this happen? Didn't think anyone cared enough to come."

"Apparently more of us are feeling the effects of the evections than we thought."

Hal smiles, "Isn't it great?" he says jokingly. He scans the crowd as if he is looking for something. Then, apparently deciding there are enough people, he calls out to them. "Hello, ladies and gentlemen! Now, we're all here for one reason, to stop the evictions!" There are a few rally cries in the crowd. I attempt to find a spot to jump down off the stage, but Hal tugs my shirt and says, "hold up, buddy." He looks back at the crowd, "I want to introduce my friend here, Kade Wlash." I straighten back up and look at the crowd, my cheeks growing hot with this impromptu introduction. "He was evicted yesterday. He's got a wife and a beautiful little girl." His eyes shift for a moment to Katie. He puts his hand on my shoulder, "He's struggling to support his family in these tough times, as all of us are. He pays his rent; he keeps his home functioning, he's funneling all of his wages into Sinclair's goddam pocket and how is he repaid? With increased rent and an eviction notice. I say no. I say we refuse to pay rent until Sinclair himself has to come down here and pry it from our hands! Maybe then he'll get the picture!"

The crowd claps for Hal and a few people cheer. He looks at me smiling and claps me on the shoulder. I grin at him. He beckons to Val and helps her onto the stage. I bend down and hoist my giggling Katie onto my shoulders. The crowd claps and cheers and chants for lower rent and no evictions. I don't think about how I'm going to get out of being evicted right now. I'm with my family and my newfound friend in front of a sympathetic, cheering crowd. I'm happy and I grin widely as I turn to kiss Val.


End file.
